John Leonard Wilson

John Leonard Wilson (23 November 1897-1970), usually known as "Leonard", was an Anglican Bishop. He was Bishop of Singapore from 1941 to 1949 during the time of Japanese occupation, and subsequently Dean of Manchester and Bishop of Birmingham.

Education

Wilson was educated at Newcastle Grammar School, St John's School, Leatherhead, Knutsford Training School [According to [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/TheoColl.html Genuki/"Theological Colleges attended by Welsh ministers and priests"] : "Knutsford Ordination Test School, Hawarden (formerly Ordination Test School, Knutsford): established 1919 by Rev "Tubby" Clayton, the founder of TocH, in a disused gaol at Knutsford, Cheshire. Intended primarily for Church of England ordinands who had served in the First World War. Reconstituted in 1922 and moved to Hawarden 1925".] , The Queen's College, Oxford (shortened degree, Bachelor of Arts in Theology 1922), and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. [J. C. H. Tompkins, ‘Wilson, (John) Leonard (1897–1970)’, rev., "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" (Oxford University Press, 2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36966 accessed 15 March 2008] ]

Marriage and family

In 1930, he married Mary Phillips ["The Times", Thursday, Apr 25, 1968; pg. 11; Issue 57235; col G: "Ecclesiastical Merger ": Letter from Mary Wilson, about her husband's war experiences.] . They had a daughter and four sons.

ervice in Singapore

After serving as Dean of Hong Kong, Wilson became Bishop of Singapore in 1941.

At the time of the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the Bishop, assisted by Rev. Reginald Keith Sorby Adams of Saint Andrew's School, Singapore and John Hayter, ministered unstintingly to the people of Singapore. Subsequently they were able to continue their ministry for a year, thanks mainly to the help of a Christian Japanese officer Andrew Ogawa. [John Hayter "Priest in Prison:Four years of Life in Japanese-occupied Singapore" 1991 Tynron Press ISBN 1-85646-051-7] However the growing popularity of the Cathedral and the use of English was perceived by the Japanese authorities as a threat, and in 1943 the trio were interned in the notorious Changi prison.

Another factor was the discovery of some notes by the Bishop on Lawrence of Arabia which raised suspicions of plans to stir up the local population to revolt. [ [http://www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/rart_doc/ang/sing/wilson1946.htm A broadcast sermon by the Rt. Rev. J. L. Wilson, Bishop of Singapore "A Prisoner of the Japanese" The Listener of Oct. 24th, 1946] ] In the prison they worked hard to maintain morale. Then Wilson was one of 57 civilians who were tortured by the Japanese authorities in the "Double Tenth" case, so called because it started with a raid on the Changi internment facility on 10 October 1943. The Japanese were seeking evidence that the internees had assisted in Operation Jaywick, in which Australian and British commandos operating from Australia sank several Japanese warships in Singapore's Keppel Harbour on 26 September 1943. Bishop Wilson was one of those who gave evidence of the nature of the torture to the investigation commission set up by the authorities of the Sime Road Internment Camp following the Japanese surrender in August 1945. By the end of the war he had made several conversions to Christianity including some of the Japanese captors [ [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=062-jlw&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18Wilson's records relating to his appointment as Bishop of Singapore, 1941 - 1945, are in the Imperial War Museum, Department of Documents.] ] [J. L. Wilson Obituary in "The Times", Wednesday, Aug 19, 1970; pg. 10; Issue 57948; col F "The Rt Rev J L Wilson Bishop who was tortured and later confirmed his captors" ] [http://www.lambethconference.org/1998/news/lambethdaily/080798ld.pdf An account of her father's imprisonment and torture by Rev Canon Susan Cole-King, at the Lambeth Conference 1998 in "The Lambeth Daily", Friday 7 August 1998, page 2 "My father's witness".] ] .

Later career

From 1949 to 1953, Wilson was Dean of Manchester, and from 1953 ["The Times", Wednesday, 28 October 1953; pg. 5; Issue 52764; col B "Bishop Of Birmingham Enthroned - Service Relayed" ] to 1969 ["The Times", Wednesday, 17 September 1969; pg. 10; Issue 57667; col A: "Church News Bishop-Elect Of Birmingham"] , Bishop of Birmingham, in succession to the controversial Ernest William Barnes. In his time as a bishop, he was frequently called on to give a Christian perspective on issues of peace and war, his wartime experiences giving him a powerful moral platform from which to do so [ [http://www.lambethpalacelibrary.org/ Lambeth Palace Library and the Church of England Record Centre have records of his service as a Bishop, after 1945] .] . He was an early supporter of the ordination of women ["The Times", Monday, 20 April 1959; pg. 6; Issue 54439; col F: "Case For Ordination Of Women "Strong" Bishop Of Birmingham"] . He was opposed to the Death Penalty ["The Times", Wednesday, Feb 15, 1956; pg. 9; Issue 53455; col E: Letter to the Editor from Leonard Birmingham+ "Death Penalty For Murder", giving biblical grounds for opposition] and for the reform of the law on homosexual acts [One of many signatories to a letter to the editor of "The Times", Friday, Mar 07, 1958; pg. 11; Issue 54093; col E: "Homosexual Acts Call To Reform Law" and "The Times", Tuesday, May 11, 1965; pg. 13; Issue 56318; col D: "Law On Homosexuals".] .

As President of the Modern Churchmen's Union, 1958-1960 [ [http://www.modchurchunion.org/About/History/Leadership.htm Modern Churchpeople's Union Website] : History: Leadership. The MCU conferences that he chaired in these years were entitled:
*1957 "The Sacred and the Secular"
*1958 "Christianity: a Faith for the World",
*1959: "Life and Death ".] , he was strongly involved in the controversies following the publication of "Honest to God" in 1964 ["The Times", Wednesday, 12 August [1964] ; pg. 9; Issue 56088; col D: "Honest Or Not Views Of Modern Churchmen"] .

In 1966 he gave the address at the memorial service for the wartime General Officer Commanding (Malaya), Arthur Ernest Percival, which was held in St Martin-in-the-Fields.

He was appointed CMG in 1946 and KCMG in 1963.

The author of his ODNB article says: "His episcopate in Birmingham cemented a divided diocese, and strengthened the influence of the church on civic and social life" [ [Oxford Dictionary of national Biography article by J. C. H. Tompkins, ‘Wilson, (John) Leonard (1897–1970)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36966, accessed 3 Aug 2008] ] .

His death and his children's activities

He retired to Yorkshire in 1969. He died of a stroke on the way home after conducting the annual service of the Order of St Michael and St George at St Paul's Cathedral on 22 July 1970 ["The Times", Saturday, 22 August 1970; pg. 12; Issue 57951; col G: "Bishop Wilson - Sir Kenneth Roberts-Wray writes (in addition to the Times Obituary).] .

His daughter, Susan King-Cole (23 April 1934 - 8 February 2001) was ordained as an Anglican priest. On 6 August 1998 (Hiroshima Day) at the Lambeth Conference she gave the homily, on her father's wartime experience and the need for peace [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/canon-dr--susan-coleking-729001.html "Independent", 7 April 2001 Obituary by Jane Arden:"Canon Dr Susan Cole-King".] ] . His son, Martin, was also an ordained a priest [ [http://www.friendsofnma.org.uk/friendsnews20.htm "National Memorial Arboretum newsletter", Autumn 2006 "An unexpected parcel".] ]

Publications

*"A Bishop Broadcasts". [With a portrait.] 11 pages, published by Singapore Auxiliary Diocesan Association [1947] (found in British Library catalogue).
*Contribution to "Marriage, Sex and the Family. A Christian symposium". Edited by E. P. Smith. Wales Publishing Co.: London, 1959. (Referred to in ODNB article and found in the BL catalogue).

References

Further reading

*Oxford Dictionary of National Biography J. C. H. Tompkins, ‘Wilson, (John) Leonard (1897–1970)’, rev., first published Sept 2004
*Roy McKay, "John Leonard Wilson: Confessor for the Faith", London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1973 ISBN 0340154888, paperback edition, 1974: ISBN 0340185708
* J. L. Wilson, "Only Look on us as Found in Him" (Cambridge: Mass: 1961).